A weekend in the Cairngorms - Day 2

On the second day in Glenmore, I decided to walk up Meall a'Bhuachaille, a 820m high Corbett. But first, an amazing breakfast at my youth hostel: hot apple pie with lots of ice cream. Judging from the looks of my fellow guests I might have started a trend.

Off I went through nice woodlands until I reach An Lochan Uain - the small green lake.

And then off into the open heather landscape.

Soon Ryvoan Bothy came into view - will keep it in mind as an emergency accommodation, it looked quite cozy inside (although I was glad for my warm youth hostel room nonetheless).

 Then it goes up. The stairs are steep and I'm soon questioning why exactly I'm doing this.

The bothy is soon far below.

 The first major views were very rewarding:

And finally, the top, marked by a large storm cairn.

Great views of Loch Morlich:

Look at those views!

Suddenly, there were reindeer! I couldn't believe my eyes, it was amazing...

At some point they disappeared in the direction I had come from, so I decided to start the long descent.

I had to laugh when I saw this sign. Allow 5-6 hours - I needed only three, and I'm not even in good shape.

Pity the weekend was over so soon. I will be back!

Once upon a time, there was a tree...

Dear readers,

I've done strange things on this blog, like writing an ode to traffic lights. And, brace yourselves, here comes another love letter - this time, addressed to the most essential servant of all writers and journalists: the tree.

Bäume sind Gedichte, die die Erde in den Himmel schreibt. Wir fällen sie nieder und verwandeln sie in Papier, um unsere Leere zu dokumentieren.

Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky. We fell them down and turn them into paper, that we may record our emptiness.

(Khalil Gibran, Lebanese-American writer and poet)

According to the environmental office in Munich, Germany, every fifth tree that is felled is used to make paper. Twenty percent of those trees are taken from rain forests.
Every year, each person on this earth uses an average of 52 kg of paper. In Germany, this number is five times as much, at about 250 kg.
The amount of paper used has grown continuously over the last centuries, as has the tropical deforestation.

source: Greenpeace Aachen

So now it's time to do something against this development. This is why I'm taking part in the campaign "One blog, one tree". It's very simple: I write a blog entry about trees, and the software company ITSTH in cooparation with I plant a tree will plant a beech tree for me.

Black forest canyons (Gorge Trail 2)

The second leg of the gorge trail really lived up to the way's name. Steep canyons, murmuring streams, high cliffs, stone steps with safety ropes, and always, sometimes close and sometimes very far below, the river Wutach.
After an hour or so after leaving the village of Achdorf, where I had spent the night, I met two men walking the same route as I. I had overtaken them yesterday, but this day I joined them, and we walked together for most of the day. The older one used to be a forester in another part of the black forest, and he told us a great deal about the different plants, especially trees, that we encountered on our walking tour.
Even though this second leg of the way was shorter than the first one, it took a great deal longer to complete because the path went continuously up and down, and never seemed to use the shortest route available. Still, it was one of the most beautiful days of the trip, even though the weather wasn't the best.


Info Day 2
Length: 18 km
Towns: Achdorf
Accommodation: Pension Schattenmühle, Schattenmühle (20€)

A "pit stop" for walkers 

Inside: coffee, drinks, fruit for a pay-what-you-like contribution

An old millwheel along the way

Cows :)

The forest is not yet black

After this saw mill the path descended into the actual gorge

Anyone want to tell me what flower this is?

A pillar fir tree, something pretty rare that my forester walking companion pointed out to me.

The path is getting smaller, the stone walls steeper 

A stone pyramid, for good luck.

One of many interesting bridges along the way. 

The path is getting more and more exposed, from time to time there are ropes and handrails for safety reasons.

Limestone rocks are towering over the river Wutach.

Up into the forest and down to the river leads the path. 

Often, there are fallen rock pieces on the path, so standing under those stone walls is not recommended 

View back over forest and river.

The flower of a wild rhubarb plant

One of many waterfalls that we pass.

A little chapel in the middle of the forest. Once there was a spa village here, but nature has taken back its territory.

Quite an interesting rock formation

After the canyon, the river is getting broader once more.

After it's been raining for a few hours, there's water everywhere...

Big tree roots are forming natural stairs that make walking up and down a little easier.

These roots have been strong enough to break the rocks apart.

Into the wild (Gorge trail day 1)

I've just come back from a 5-day walking tour in the black forest in the south of Germany. Through dark woods and open grasslands I followed the "Schluchtensteig" (= gorge trail), enjoying the sparse sun and hurrying along in the more common rain. It's a very beautiful trail, as you will be able to see once I start uploading some pictures.

I started my tour in Stühlingen, near the Swiss border, after a five-hour journey by bus and train from my home town. As I planned to stay in little guesthouses and hostels along the way, I had only a small backpack with me, and didn't have to carry a tent or similar things. Very helpful was the tour guide written by Walter Theil (available on Amazon), even though there were one or two times where the signs led me in a different direction than the one the book described.

If you want some more information about the trail, follow this link for a description in English and in German.

And now, without further ado, some pictures of the first day on the trail.

Info Day 1
Length: 20km
Towns: Stühlingen, Blumberg, Achdorf
Accommodation: Haus Gisela, Achdorf (23€)

The "Sauschwänzlebahn" (= pig tail train), whose tracks I crossed several times today.

The starting point of the gorge trail, the catholic church in the small town of Stühlingen.

At the beginning, I follow small paths leading away from civilisation into hills and mountains.

The first glance of river Wutach, whom I follow upstream for several days.

One of several rape fields that I pass. 

The river is getting wilder.

Quite a nice footbridge...

... overshadowed by the rail bridge above.

A forest made from fairy tales.

Little rock towers, 

Suddenly, the path was lost under a sea of wild garlic (Bärlauch).

A small waterfall along the trail.

After a steep ascent, a beautiful meadow.

A lovely place for a short moment of rest.

A raised hide. Earlier today, I saw a doe from between some trees.

The view back over low hills and grasslands.

Panorama picture. The tiny dot in the sky is a bird of prey, one of many I saw that day.